An unscrupulous car clamper who forced motorists to pay non-existent fees was forced to fork out more than £12,000.

AN UNSCRUPULOUS car clamper who forced motorists to pay non-existent fees was forced to fork out more than £12,000.

Jade Sweeney was ordered to pay the money after a jury at Harrow Crown Court found him guilty of billing people with bogus costs.

Two drivers were last week charged £480 by the Safeguard Security worker - £350 more than the normal clamping fee - for additional costs such as a tow removal, call-out and storage.

These charges were made despite the drivers having parked their cars for just a matter of minutes, one to go into a toy shop and the other to a cash machine.

When mother Anjula Shah stopped in the car park of the now-derelict Matrix pub in Alexandra Avenue, South Harrow, she returned from a quick visit to the toy shop opposite to see her car clamped and 33-year-old Sweeney waiting with a tow truck.

It was a similar story for Norman Tate, who stopped in the car park of the Sam Maguire pub believing he was in the queue for the adjacent car wash.

But when he returned from a cash machine minutes later, he too was greeted with an exorbitant clamping fee.

Harrow Council and Brent and Harrow Trading Standards acted on these customer complaints, and after a two-day trial Sweeney, of Matlock Crescent, Watford, was found guilty of two offences under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

He also admitted four other offences relating to his failure to give full details of his company.

He was fined £5,000, ordered to pay costs of £6,619 and told to repay each of the motorists their £480.

Bill Bilon, head of Brent and Harrow Trading Standards, was delighted with the result. He said: "These motorists were forced to pay completely inflated bills to get their cars back, and it was a complete rip-off.

"The hefty fine imposed on Sweeney should serve as notice that we will come down hard on cowboy clampers. They may make a quick buck, but they can expect to lose it in the courts."